Universal Joint Assembly for Angled Surgical Tool Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical tools face challenges in accessing difficult areas during procedures like hip replacement surgery due to their limited ability to adjust angles and potential damage from high RPMs, especially when drilling pilot holes or placing screws.
Innovation Solution
A universal joint assembly with a ball and socket configuration allows for a surgical tool to be angled in multiple dimensions, featuring a socket, ball, and pin that can rotate about multiple axes, coupled with a drive shaft and elastic mechanism to maintain position, enabling precise tool orientation and high RPM operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a surgical tool uses a fixed configuration, then the structure is simple and reliable, but the tool cannot access difficult areas requiring various angles
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical tool incorporates a universal joint assembly that enables dynamic adjustment of the tool's orientation. The ball and socket mechanism allows the tool to rotate and articulate at multiple angles, transforming a static configuration into a dynamic one that can adapt to various surgical access requirements while maintaining structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The surgical tool is divided into separate segments connected by the universal joint assembly. The tool comprises a handle, shaft, and working end that can be independently positioned relative to each other through the joint mechanism, allowing each segment to be optimized for its specific function while providing overall versatility
2Productivity
If the surgical tool operates at high RPMs, then drilling and screw placement efficiency increases, but tissue damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The universal joint assembly enables precise control over the tool's orientation and operational parameters. By allowing accurate positioning at various angles, the system optimizes the drilling and screw placement parameters to achieve high efficiency while minimizing tissue trauma through controlled, precise movements rather than brute-force high-speed operations
3Adaptability or versatility
If the surgical tool has limited angle adjustment capability, then the device is simpler to manufacture, but it cannot access difficult surgical areas
Solution Approach 1:
The universal joint assembly provides multi-functional capability within a single device structure. The ball and socket mechanism enables the tool to perform multiple functions by adjusting to various angles and orientations, allowing one tool design to access difficult surgical areas that would otherwise require multiple specialized instruments, thereby simplifying the overall manufacturing requirements
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise access to difficult surgical areas while minimizing tissue damage, allowing for efficient drilling and screw placement during hip replacement surgery.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic mechanism biased to exert a force on the ball in at least one direction
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical tool including a socket having a housing and an aperture within the housing, the socket configured to receive a ball and a pin at least partially in the aperture. The ball is positioned at least partially in the socket and configured to rotate within the socket, the ball comprising an elongated opening extending through the ball. The pin is coupled to the socket and disposed at least partially in the socket on opposite sides of the socket, the pin including a first longitudinal axis and extending through the elongated opening of the ball between opposite sides of the socket. The ball is configured to partially rotate about the first longitudinal axis of the pin, and partially rotate, about a second axis perpendicular to the first longitudinal axis of the pin, in a plane aligned with the elongated opening.